Ode to a Gossip and Wuddled Murds

On my travels in the last week and fifty years, I've become acutely aware of volume of misinformation to confuse and muddle us all. The tiniest slip of the tongue can change the meaning of any sentence so that a words become murd-erous things. It may seem wrong to many the day after yet another memorial service commemorating millions dying that I should speak of silence, but really it is often the first way we best show respect. It is also prudent to take due care not to share the wrong information in even our simplest of tasks. It's bad enough that gossips enter into a game of Chinese whispers whereby the original facts get distorted without analysts adding to the mayhem by doing the same.

However, I have enjoyed the curiosity of children and animals in response. What with squirrels being photographed taking photographs these days and children inventing new words that perfectly encapsulate the state of us all I feel things are about as 'normal' as can be reasonably be expected considering the level of threats and concerns that abound at this time. While we still each have need to talk and share how things go wrong to avert troubles, what we do not need to do is share fears unsubstantiated by any facts. Opinions and hearsay are mere suppositions and theories and only one possible outcome. Our history as a species overall has proved to be far more positive when we take better care of what we say and when we choose to say it as well as when and where.

Personally, despite having learnt to be outspoken I have always preferred quiet conversations with small groups of people. I can perform in front of a audience well enough but I don't much enjoy either the adulation if it goes down well, nor the criticism from cynics when it does not. When we express ourselves, we are merely sharing our own experiences and those experiences are forever changing so that our opinions too ought to be adapting and moving with the times and the events that we encounter. The second we veer toward being hostile toward others we ourselves start to become dangerous to not only our adversaries but also our loved ones and, most of all, ourselves.

Sometimes it is far better not to respond at all to anything at least until a fuller picture of what is happening emerges. A jigsaw with a thousand pieces is not complete because you have found two of them. You might only have one piece each of two separate jigsaws but won't know it until more pieces are gathered in.

As a person who has always preferred quieter communication and few questions (ideally relevant to my priorities instead of that of other peoples) my ambition is to return to that mode which is how I started my life. Life always moves in cycles and I think it time for others to learn what I already know their own way with little input from me at all. It is their right to do so. I can only hope they make as few mistakes as I have and cause as little harm too.

For me this can only happen if words become less wuddled and the meaning of those we choose to use is much better understood and agreed by all. That is no easy challenge at a time when words like 'evil' and 'wicked' now mean quite the opposite of their original definition. Even the word rapture has come to mean death, destruction, annihilation instead of delight and joy. The answer to me is simple... you choose your own meaning, but be careful others know what you mean and never distort their intentions in return for them never doing that to you. That is and has always been one of our greatest challenges as chatterbox human beings and it is thanks to our tendency to speak more that we end up meaning less which is not the cleverest of things to do especially in dangerous times.

So here is another poem of mine, which interestingly to me at least was written early on in my life prior to entering adulthood and all the responsibilities that necessarily entails. Yes I shall continue to speak and write, just less often; and as far as I am able to, I will endeavour to choose my words and the timing of them far more carefully than ever before. Such is the effect of so many profound experiences among them, far too many avoidable losses of good people.

Ode To A Gossip

Voices murmur, mutter, chatter,

A constant droning, groaning sound,

Yet what they speak of does not matter,

“Keep on talking all day round.”

Yet if a silence fell upon them,

Would they strive to kill the pause?

Is it something forced upon them,

To speak, when there’s so little cause?

Founder's Thoughts: Arty Facts

Wishing to take a break from worldly matters I've decided to return to the arts which is rather ironic as it always concerns itself with worldly matters. The arts have always been an outlet for human thoughts and feelings. It is where we find our fears and dreams and many an insight as to how to make both happen in reality. Unlike sports, the arts has and will always be an early warning system for troubles brewing, but in common with sport it provides an outlet for the relief of tension when they are upon us. Artists, like historians seem to be the keepers of information on past events pertaining to humanity's progress more than any other group.

My own stance is that art's greatest value is in being able to provide a voice to those who would otherwise have none. Via art we can heal by sharing our troubles and fears by working through them as well as expressing our hopes and dreams to find a way of making better things happen. From dance to drama, from music to literature and from to sculpture to painting, photography, print and embroidery everyone can and should be able to express what it is to be alive.

No artwork is ever quite complete without a response to it. We prove our existence by sharing experiences both good and bad and the arts enable us to do so relatively safely compared to other forms of dialogue. We seem to have greater options of control over who we choose to share things with when being creative as well as how we do so. Outside of counselling, art is the only place we explore ourselves and the world around us at the same time.

Artists in Training

The professional training of an artist in any discipline, is a curious process. Unlike any other profession the trainee artiste is encouraged to explore everything and make as many mistakes as possible so long as they take adequate precaution against injuries or death. Some are trained technically from the outset while others are trained to be expressive so that technique becomes secondary if applied at all.

Like anything else the more we do a thing, the better we become at it which goes a long way to explain why simply being expressive can result in being technically brilliant over a long period of time. Conversely, without thinking, a technically adept artist can become extremely expressive.

It is not surprising that artworks cause controversy, much of it is designed to. The artist both consciously and subconsciously questions just about everything. Rather like Socrates most artists tend not to bother with providing answers, preferring to complete their masterpiece by allowing you the audience to decide that thereby quite rightly relinquishing all responsibility for your response. In many respects I feel art's role is meant to be awkward, fickle and contradictory for it's purpose above all is to reflect what it is to be human and in the process query our morality and logic. Hence why all art is said to mirror life. The result of your response to an artwork reveals much more about you than it does the artist to which invariably the artist will respond. In that regard it is a perpetually beautiful circular relationship if at times frustrating for both parties.

Enabled while Disabled

As yet I haven't got round to crowdfunding for my kiln which is a pity as my home is rather awash with unfired pieces now, some more understandable and readily accessible than others. I seem to have got sidetracked by more pressing matters - I can't think why.

I'm not entirely sure what exactly I had in my mind when I made this piece. All I do know is that each time I experience it my response changes because whereas it doesn't change, I am always evolving. Artists are extremely changeable. Few realise why but it is simply because thoughts and feelings are transient unless and until we feed them. Best to be careful over which we feed. As human beings we are always changing as new experiences teach us new things to alter our perspective. If this wasn't true we would still retain the same attitude and behaviour as we displayed the day we were born. Sometimes I look upon a creative effort and pat myself on the back for the skill I have used, on another day I can look on the same piece and observe how much skill was lacking to make it.

We can all feel so sure no one could mistake what we've tried to convey to others only to find we've missed out on how they relate to the world. The result can be and often is that we find ourselves completely misunderstood. Our options is to try again if it seems worthy of our time and effort but it often requires a different approach, technique or angle to connect with beings even stranger than ourselves, even among our own species.

What relevance has this to worldly things? As every true scientist and artist knows every action has an equal and opposite reaction in nature. As human beings I feel we need to be careful to avoid violent extremes.
My personal view is that we should examine everything we do by both its merits and its short-comings before choosing what to do next. We should I think take time to learn how to communicate with those we wish to open dialogues with as a first step; more so from those who are never given much in the way of opportunities to express themselves at all. I think we could learn the most from them but then as an artist with scientific leanings I'm rather partial to exploring the unknown.

Operations File: Customers training you

We are all customers and therefore we all at times get frustrated when services and products fail. It annoys  us precisely because of the waste of time and money that could be more productively spent.

An extract of an email I sent to a customer service team regarding an IT product:

"I would assume the answer is yes, but clarification would be appreciated. Naturally I will test drive this theory of mine with or without you responding, but I can hardly recommend a company or it's services if it doesn't understand the needs of it's customers.

I happen to have worked with hundreds of programmes, so it is always incredibly frustrating for the user to have to explore how each system works. Know the feeling? I point blank refuse to use any that expect me to be trained to fit how it operates when it becomes too much of a hassle. Programmes and systems are supposed to be useful tools whereby we control them, NOT the other way around.

If your company wishes to continue to be successful it would be wise to bear that in mind as the rate of progress is such that one of your competitors will respond more quickly, understand more easily and thereby take your customers away from you. Fair warning I feel ..."

Feel free to take a similar stance to chivvy things along if you don't already do so. Start-ups tend to be more afraid to do so than larger enterprises which have the benefit of experience of wording things to ensure they get the service they expect and pay for. But what of the effect on the customer service departments and their staff?

The role of customer services

It is only right for customers to complain when services are below par regardless of whether it is a business or a community service. Without that information how can any organisation fix the problems? In my tweets I have let complained at politicians because I am a customer. Not only that, I am one of their employers as my taxes pay their salaries. In effect, we are all their bosses. The same principle applies even to government departments. The point is we are always customers ourselves and should always be aware of how we all prefer to be treated.

It should therefore become abundantly apparent as to what the role of customer service staff is. They have to have extraordinary abilities in tact, diplomacy and empathy to be of any use. Added to which they need to be resilient to the point of being thick-skinned at times and, preferably unafraid to kick their bosses to respond to serious complaints promptly which could otherwise bring that enterprise into disrepute and thereby loose the trust of their clients and customers.

It is also essential that customer services work closely with marketing teams as the last thing you need is the latter going off on some spurious tangent of their own just because there's an opportunity for marketing before things are firmly in place to deliver things. Large companies which take the attitude that they don't need to bother with small fry are quite frankly, foolish, because among those smaller concerns (including individuals) you never know who they know or may come to know and people always, always, always talk when it comes to bad experiences.

I stated exactly that on being told that if I didn't want the freelance work offered (which didn't even cover the travel expenses to get to it), there were plenty of others what would. The result of my saying that was an offer of a meeting with the management of the company which I declined as in the interim I'd heard rumours that 'pay' was subsidised by illegal drugs. Not wishing to become a drug addict, the company was of zero interest to me. I believe it no longer trades which is rather pleasing to know. So even as an employee we can shop for the best service (employer) we are able to afford.

Employers be warned as you'd be amazed at what your workers can learn from just what they witness. I've perhaps gleaned more than most from working in administration, operations and at many a corporate event as a technician. It pays dividends to communicate and be inclusive of staff at all times as that in itself will enhance your customer's experience by ensuring that whoever a client talks to is genuinely upbeat about your organisation for the right reasons.

TOP TIP: Trust people for what they do, not what they say and look for consistency of effort.

Great oaks

Great oaks only grow from small acorns and if you work hard on networking opportunities you will eventually lead to a good return for that investment in some way. It undoubtedly pays to be polite as much as possible, but one should never be afraid to stand up to any form of bullying or stupidity. Customer service staff should be trained, and trained well to deal with instances of exasperated customers. If they are not, then you only have yourselves to blame for the consequences.

In a recession of course there is more safety in numbers than in putting all your eggs in one basket. My first stint of entrepreneurship came when I was production manager of a typesetting company in the 1980s recession. I wasn't a director of the company but I was responsible for production, credit control, invoicing and jointly responsible for customer services when I was still in my early twenties.

While our competitors chased after big contracts, we had a healthier balance of small, medium and large customers as our client base. While our competitors charged more and only supplied proof-reading as an additional fee, we did not. While our competitors in effect bullied their customers into thinking that they were only tolerated if they matched their standards (snobbery tactics), we did not. The result was that we secured overspill work from multinationals including Loctite UK and EMI on a subcontract basis and our competitors went under.

It was still viable when I resigned with only one month's salary to move on with. I chose to turn freelance to gain a broader experience. Eventually the company folded after I left but I cannot comment as to why as I wasn't privy to anything that happened after my departure one way or another. Perhaps it was one customer too many that didn't pay their bill or one investment too many - who knows. I don't.

This highlights another role of customer service professionals - they need to be kept informed about bad debts and agreement as to how to handle customers who have not paid their bills, if only in who they should pass that customer onto when they make contact. It is surprising how many businesses fail to do so with the result that the customer feels they are in favour with one department, but not with another... trust me they will milk that for all it's worth. 

Symbiotic relations

The way in which the best customer service professionals work is very much through building relationships rather than by dictating rules. They should be informing operational managers and company directors of what clients are interested in for the future but also enticing customers into being interested in everything that the company is providing. They are your front line PR team and should always be highlighting products and services that customers might wish to explore as a means of developing themselves. There is little point trying to sell conference facilities to children's entertainers, but the same facilities might be of interest to host parties to both the entertainers and their customers. Talk to both.

Clients who run seminars might also wish to run awards and require some form of entertainment which in turn may lead to you needing to hire entertainers, thereby building not only business but relationships between your own clients which will encourage them all to make use of your services more. And it is your customer service team who are the usually the first point of contact to raise such possibilities simply because their role entails that they should know your clients best. Every conversation they have could lead to new opportunities and ways in which to improve and develop your business. In effect customer service teams are also part sales reps and marketing professionals too.

As people we tend to be most interested in others when they show an interest in us first. Therefore there is no point employing people who do not like conversation and who do not listen properly in a customer service role. The best way of all to gain respect, gratitude, loyalty and trust from your customers is to be honest and be genuine. Faking such things is luckily quite hard as most of us have strong instincts about when we are being lied to.

In essence our relations will always benefit from being honest even to the point of us saying when we cannot deliver something as promised. We know ourselves that we would rather have prior warning of something that is going to be cancelled, late or postponed than to be told at the last minute. So why I wonder do people bother lying when furious responses are the most likely outcome?

TOP TIP: Focus on the content of your client's communication, not the how or who.

The same complaint might come from several sources or only one, but every complaint should be considered to be valid. Dismissing a person or the manner in which they communicate to you could lead to you missing out on a pitfall that could affect many. Don't do it.

Customers should always be training us through informing us about what works for them and what doesn't, without them, none of us would have jobs and no business can evolve, develop and grow. The customer may not always be right, but they will never fail to tell you when you are which I always think is helpful. Remember that usually when we are wrong it's because we haven't done enough to inform people about what we can or cannot provide. With considered communication customers can be brought to a level of understanding of why you work the way you do. After that it is very much up to them as to whether or not they wish to stick with you.

Never try to emulate exactly what competitors do as your client has to have a reason of some kind to prefer and choose you. Identify and be consistent about your Unique Selling Point (USP). Yes you may lose some clients because of it, but hopefully not the ones you wish to attract. (See Operations file on marketing).

Finally, I had profuse apologies over that IT service with the result that the company in question is now on probation while I test drive it's products. Best they don't let me down again, as there are always other service providers out there aren't there? In common with 99% of major companies their USP isn't down to customer service, nor should it be, nevertheless it still matters and will always be a vital element to determine their and your continued success or potential for failure.

Article: The greater part of communication - listening

With both Irish and Yorkshire ancestry I could win an Olympic Gold for talking for England - bluntly. Sensitively blunt is how I often describe myself. In the business world we need both skills to be able to work effectively. However, I was born and have lived for most of my life in the south of England where curious communication habits have developed.

I am not a fan of jargon, abbreviations, acronyms, marketing spin or irrelevant waffle as a general rule. A spade is a spade not a manual earth transference device or METD for short! People who delight in looking down their noses at those who do not know the jargon or acronyms I find irritating as they either way they are on some private ego boosting trip of their own or into power mongering in my humble opinion (IHMO). My tendency is to invent a few terms of my own to remind them that they do not know everything and that they too are learners. I guess that's my mischievous Irish side.

That said industries develop a short-hand to help increase the speed by which information can be relayed and certain types of media such as Twitter and texting sometimes merit that short-hand. Then there are affectionate pet names for things which get to be common parlance such as grellies instead of grelcos or hoovers instead of vacuum cleaners. I happen to know that some parts of the IT industry in particular loves inventing quite rude acronyms to keep 'those in the know' happily amused and focussed on their work - fear not they are safely tucked away from the gaze of the public. As we acquire knowledge so the terms we use with our colleagues adapts.

We are also human so general chit-chat is I feel, an important and necessary element to include in a healthy working environment. We cannot gauge when is the right time to approach our superiors or when to inform a member of staff about anything without taking into account how busy they are or what mood they are in. If we want to work in a happy and more productive environment it makes sense to take an interest in everyone we work with anyway.

So, while I am a staunch advocate in working purely with facts, I also advocate ensuring those facts are placed in context as it helps inform decisions on not only what is the most appropriate route forward but also how a task should be actioned. Wording is crucial to effective communication... rumour has it that's why people get trained in the art of marketing as they should be the best at it at all times. However, no one is perfect 24 hours a day, every day (24/7).

A pause of my Irish prattling... time to illustrate a different communication style - that Yorkshire bluntness.

How to listen effectively

Fact: learnt in studies on counselling.

1. Applicable to all verbal communication but also some written forms.
2. The acid test on whether or not you have listened is to list all the adjectives (describing words such as productive, proactive lovely and successful) used by the person you were supposedly listening to. Oh, you think 'successful' is a factual statement do you? It is always a subjective (personal) perspective.
3. Adjectives provide clues to where that person is coming from, what they know and what their preferred style of communication is.
4. To hone and develop those skills, go on an Introduction to Counselling course.

Please note: this does not in any way imply that you have understood a single word you have heard!

Body Language
Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is but one form of learning how to read body language - there are plenty of others. Subconsciously we all pick up on body language, it's how we get our 'vibes' about others. We are often totally wrong in the detail because as humans we interpret our information according to what we have experienced ourselves and by what we choose to believe those experiences tell us about others.

Body language does at least give us a starting point - it's usually pretty obvious if someone is in pain, stressed, happy, excited, interested, unimpressed or bored from body language on its own. The 'why' behind those signals is where we err. To find out, try asking! In the working environment though it is not always either appropriate to ask or to tell people why they are interested or unimpressed. Different work situations require each person to behave differently in a set of generally understood (for the most part) but hardly ever voiced rules of conduct.

If a person is making a pitch for you to give them business their body language might say that they are unimpressed and bored with you. If so, you're not likely to stop and ask why!

Again to fully understand body language requires proper in depth training on a dedicated course.

The written word
Listening also applies to all forms of written communication. We can gain insights by noting the order in which information is conveyed, the vocabulary used, the structure (bullet pointed lists, paragraphed statements etc) and of course by what is missed out. Reading between the lines (i.e. interpreting what is put) again is at our own risk - we might be wrong. Omissions might be because of the writer being ill, distracted or phenomenally busy. Again and again I find I regularly have to remind people not to assume but to seek facts by asking for clarification.

I was tempted to now go on to how to put all this together by providing a myriad of examples listening skills and apply it to the above key areas of verbal, body language and written communication. However I feel it would be an insult to my reader's intelligence to do so and it is against my policy to spoon fed anyone anyway. Empowerment means providing the tools for people to do things for themselves.

A single example
I will leave you with one recent example though which covers all three. A volunteer offered their services to a charity. They were invited to an interview and the charity was delighted with them. On leaving the volunteer said that they were looking forward to helping in the ways discussed but beyond that they would want to be paid for their assistance. They later badly reinforced this with an email. The charity did not like this attitude even though many volunteer positions are the precursor to paid employment when positions become available. The result was the volunteer was rejected. Had the charity taken time to listen carefully or get clarification in writing from that email things might have turned out differently so that both parties would have profited from the arrangement.

The volunteer was so angry with the charity that I suggested they contact the head of it as I doubt they would be pleased. I also ensured that the volunteer understood that the person they were interviewed by was perhaps not the best person to represent the charity or its policies on volunteers. Fortunately the individual still believes in the charity but whether or not they have written to the head of it, I have no idea. I kind of hope so though as I loathe potential going to waste and it sounded like both parties had a lot to offer each other. Ah well... "Nowt as strange as folk" as my Yorkshire ancestors would say.

Even at its best language can only ever be an approximation of meaning, but by asking for clarification we greatly reduce misunderstandings and thereby costly errors in time, money, resources, stress levels and worthwhile relationships. Listening helps us all acquire more accurate and information to help shape our decisions. If avoidance of misunderstandings is ever a goal, investing time in letting others speak is an absolute must. That's how great things (miracles) can begin!

Founders Thoughts: The proof of the pudding

Written during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II and before the 2012 Olympics in the middle of a global economic crisis - I thought it worth mentioning, if only to act as a reminder to myself of the extraordinary times I am privileged enough to be a part of. Extraordinary because of the resilience of people during difficult times, not least in their determination to find joy and to win through and, I'm no different...

After a month of intensive tweeting and networking I am quietly pleased with the results as well as optimistic for the future. If you are new to social media, you might like to read my March post 'Connecting you' here on my blogsite and reading my tweets on the subject.

Already something seems to be working in my favour. Followers on twitter have increased, even if they haven't on here - I am aware that some people don't want to be seen to follow anything, others see following as a form of endorsement, I happen to feel it isn't - the police have to watch and follow suspected criminals don't they? Each to their own though, to suit their personal style and preferences.

Analytics show that over 200+ people have been reading this blogsite and been hooking up to the WildeHeads website too and I feel that's not bad for a novice in just over a month for one person who has deliberately not spent a penny on marketing so far (aside from internet connection and a few pence on electricity). It proves these things can work. Much now depends on how to maintain interest as well as finding new things to say to generate more. That could be tricky but not impossible for even a lone-trader - there are always possibilities and solutions so even if I don't have them to hand, at least I know how to look for them.

In addition, I have been working on sources of PAYE work including full-time positions to maximise options as with more options comes more choice. Happily I have one job offer in the bag already and it is flexible enough to fit in with whatever I may wish to marry it too. Just finalising CRB and paperwork. New possibilities for WildeHeads too, although I am not anxious to steam ahead with it - far better I think to take my time and build WildeHeads steadily, selecting as I go which projects I want to do, which I'll put on hold, which are most viable and which are just not feasible for me at the current time. Rushing things can, and often does, lead to inferior services or complete disasters.

While former line managers of mine may be frustrated that I am not interested in climbing the career ladder, I find I have no problem with positioning myself at the level that suits my personality and interests best. It's not written in stone though, as who knows what a polymath such as myself may be inspired by next. Suffice to say I doubt very much that reaching the level of a CEO is something that will ever grab me because I prefer working somewhere between the front line and upper management and always have.

Aside from community and the Arts I have a keen passion and interest in empowerment, communication and psychology - hence my counselling and teaching qualifications and my intention to develop those skills for sheer pleasure - I've found them to be invaluable in any business environment (another plan I have been actively progressing this month). Empowerment for me means not forcing people where they don't want to go, while encouraging people to reach their full potential for and by themselves. We all have personal lives and the work/life balance is, I think, vital to get right in order to be at our best in both environments.

Politics
Quick note about some of my tweets about politicians... no one will be more delighted than I to extol their virtues when I spot them, but I doubt I will ever name names. I happen to have a healthy respect for anyone wishing to enter politics because it must be extremely difficult to even attempt to try to please all the people all the time - I actually think it is impossible.

However, for as long as they continue to bicker about who's to blame for mistakes, dig up dirt about each others private lives that have no relevance to their ability to do their jobs, or fight over who has the best solutions like squabbling children, I'm afraid I will remain largely disinterested and disinclined to even listen. That to me is not only a bad way to market their policies, ideas and solutions but should be beneath them to even consider entering into even when passions run high.

There is one exception - corrupt MPs should always be 'outed'. I will possibly come back to politics in another article at a later date, but for now my current stance is that any time they collectively wish to grow up is fine by me. We do need to note what they are doing so we can make use of the positives or help fix their mistakes. There have been some good things happening, just not enough of them to warrant it hitting my headlines aside from the superb display of oneness over the Queen's Jubilee. I wish we could see that all the time.

What's next?
The likelihood is that my tweeting and networking will be less frequent the busier I get, but as I've already outlined I can always ask for a volunteer to help out if I feel I need or want that help. Options... there are always options.

Coming up soon will be articles on communication and possibly time management - although there's a glut of information available on the net on that already - and who knows what else; I don't. I will not risk providing a schedule for when such things will be posted, simply because I wish to remain flexible enough to respond to whatever is happening at any given point. As a basic rule of thumb I hope to post a new article once a week every Wednesday on here on something that I hope will be helpful in some way, but I won't promise - I might just decide to go for early retirement instead and pootle at pottery! Another option.

Having survived in business during the last recession I know that keeping the money moving is vital and that teamwork and networking can help to reduce not only the longevity of a recession but the severity of it. As I have tweeted, what is a recession if not a war on poverty and economic collapse? It presents us all with the opportunity to excel in how clever we can be with regard to minimising risks and displaying the best side of us - our humanity. We can all do our bit to help progress that.

To clarify, yes I have a few useful connections and a very diverse work history, but no, I have never been at the top of the business chain although I have certainly been assisting those that are, sometimes even directly. I have always admired their skills and talents, but I think will always prefer to remain a behind the scenes type - hence the range of services WildeHeads offers. All I really know for now is that I am enjoying the journey and the process of just exploring - that is actually an understatement... I adore it! I hope you do too.